Jackson community climbs mountain in honor of 9/11 first responders
The Jackson community held tradition to honor first responders who died on 9/11. It was a stair climb similar to when the first responders climbed the steps of the twin towers
There were 414 badges hanging on rope at a park pavilion in Jackson. Each one is for a first responder who died in the terrorist attacks 17 years ago. People in Jackson carried a badge in their honor as they climbed 1,368 feet up Snow King Mountain, which is the height of the twin towers.
“We want to be able to recognize that many have died or suffered since,” said Jackson Hole Fire Department Chief Brady Hansen. “And then many soldiers died and suffered since because of this event. But we’re particularly hiking on behalf of those that died on that day.”
Prior to the hike, first responders and the public came together below Snow King Mountain to get to know one another better.
“This is an opportunity for us to walk up the mountain along the emergency responders and citizens within our community just to spend time together,” Hansen said. “We’re having a little cook out. And just have that social interaction. Which kind of speaks to what we’re talking about. Just coming together as a people and spend more time thinking about how we’re alike than we do spend time thinking about how we’re dissimilar.”
Unity was the main message of the evening.
“With such a catastrophe and such a tragedy, it brought us all together at a time when our country might’ve been a little divisive,” said Al Zuckerman, who is a member of the Teton County Community Emergency Response Team. “And if we can try and keep that same spirit going today I think that would be a wonderful thing.”
“That’s really our message is that we are back into our routine of being caught up in all of our differences and all of the things that divide us and we want to stop and remember that when it comes to a crisis we have the ability to come together as a nation and be one people,” Hansen said.
They also honored those first responders who survived the attacks, but are still having ongoing health problems.
